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Category Archives: nails

September seems to have been and gone in a flash and as a result I don’t feel like I’ve done much but never the less. Here is my September roundup!

Firstly in September I won a competition! I’ve never won anything before in my life so I was pretty amazed when I won this gorgeous palette on a giveaway over at Sophie’s Blog

One evening after work we decided to go to JoJo Gelato in Fareham. I had this scrummy Nutella and Cookie supreme crepe. It was so good, especially after a hard day at work.

We also visited the Waitrose Farm Shop. Here is the post about our visit.

In Lee-on-the-Solent there was a super low tide on 18th September. I’m still discovering new things about living by the sea and this was one of them. The photo doesn’t do it justice but the sea really was a lot further out than usual.

At the end of September we went to Wales for 4 nights. I’ve never visited Wales before so it was nice to explore somewhere new. There’s a more detailed post to follow.

In September I did 8 blog posts which I think might be a record for me! If you missed any, they’re linked below:

Recently my work put in place a new policy. No nail varnish to be worn unless it is a gel manicure! Imagine my horror. You know I love my nails to be done but now having to spend anything up to £25 a fortnight at a salon to get them done?! This was going to get expensive and quickly.

I began googling and saw a home gel nail kit. To be honest I didn’t have a clue about doing my own gel nails and needing UV lights etc. I googled more and more and eventually decided I’d give it a whirl. I ordered everything I needed from Amazon.

The order came to just under £80 which, if I could actually manage to do them successfully, was a good bargain compared to going to the salon. When everything arrived there were no instructions with the Basix Kit. I googled again and came across this great post on Lulu & Sweetpea.

I followed the tutorial to the letter and that is why there are no progress pictures. Melissa is very strict about not touching things like your phone until you are done completely. If anything touches your nails it means they won’t turn out correctly and I definitely didn’t want that.

The tutorial actually uses the Gelish Basix kit I had bought and so it made it a lot easier. The instructions were clear and easy to follow and I found it all went well. It didn’t turn out perfect but for my first attempt I was more than happy.

I have nothing to compare the Gelish products to but I’m more than happy with the way they applied, looked and lasted. The nails stayed on for a fortnight and had just started to chip on my two pointer fingers which is good going.

Also on Lulu & Sweetpea is a tutorial to remove your nails which I followed and again was pleased with. There are also other tutorials on how to fix a nail or how to add glitter. If you’re thinking of doing your own nails at home I’d definitely recommend the Harmony Gelish nail kit and Lulu & Sweetpea’s blog for showing you how it’s done.

I’m probably a little late to the party but I recently discovered gel nail polishes that don’t require you to go to the salon to have them done and you can remove it easily at home. I first bought the Rimmel Super Gel Kit in Soul Session from Superdrug for £8.99. Foolishly I didn’t take a picture of it the two times I used this kit.

Image courtesy of superdrug.com

The box claims that this will give you 14 days of colour and shine. Unfortunately I didn’t find this to be the case but it certainly lasted a week. After 7 days though it started to crack where my nails bend and after 9 days it needed to come off but it didn’t chip too bad at all and gave my nail a thick gel like look which I liked.

The next gel polish I bought was Model’s Own Hyper Gel in Naked Glow. I love a nude nail can you tell? Unfortunately I didn’t get to take pictures of this one as it chipped the very next day when I wore it both times! The colour was lovely but it took a good while to dry and chipped way too easily for the price.

The last one I bought was New Look’s Pure Gel in Biscuit. I spotted this at the till at the last minute and literally grabbed it whilst paying for something else. It was only £2.99 and I thought there was no way it would live up to the 7 days it claims to last but lo and behold it did! I was so surprised. It went on beautifully and gave my nail the thick gel look. It dried quickly and only needed two coats. The polish lasted so well. After a week I only had one small chip on the pointer finger of my left hand. I’m a leftie so if any hand was going to chip first, it was going to be this one. I was also complimented when wearing this polish. Someone asked me if my nails were gel or acrylic. When I told them they were natural they said I was blessed and that they looked like I’d had them done at the salon. So New Look is definitely a winner with me! The polish lasted the best and was only £2.99.

Winner!

Which is your favourite gel polish? Do you like a nude nail or a pop of colour?

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I’m an OPI fan at heart but just recently I’ve been hearing good things about Rimmel’s 60 Second Shine polishes so I’ve given them a go. There’s a pretty extensive colour range out there but I’m a pale/nude kind of girl so I picked up #500 Caramel Cupcake and #513 Let’s Get Nude.

I tried out Caramel Cupcake first and the first thing I noticed was the brush. It’s different to other brushes and allows the polish to glide on to your nails really nicely. It also meant I barely got any streaks in the covering like can be the case with other pale polishes. This went on nice and thick and glossy. I applied a second coat but could probably have gotten away with just one coat.

I was amazed by how quickly that first coat applied. It was touch dry within just a couple of minutes and within an hour was knock proof too, something that is needed with me! For some reason once I’ve painted my nails I knock them on everything leading to dents!

I then tried out Let’s Get Nude. This was more of a rush job and I ended up applying a couple of coats within a couple of hours of each other and had a nap. When I woke up it had imprints from the blanket I’d had on! My own fault for applying coats so close together but consider it a lesson learned. I really like the look of Let’s Get Nude on, it suits my pale skin and looks like milky coffee when applied. It went on just as smooth as Caramel Cupcake and has lasted a whole week with no chipping or fading and in my line of work that’s a sign of a good polish, especially since I’ve worn it with no top coat!

Rimmel’s range of 60 Second Shine colours can be purchased at most beauty stores for around £2.99 I however managed to pick up Caramel Cupcake on offer in Asda for the bargain price of £1.99! Such a bargain for such a lovely colour and long lasting polish.